The Chicago Bears have undergone an impressive turnaround under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, winning the NFC North for the first time since 2018. Quarterback Caleb Williams has taken a significant step forward in Johnson’s system, and Chicago now boasts one of the most explosive offenses in the league.
Despite that progress, Williams and the Bears came up just short in Sunday night’s primetime loss to the San Francisco 49ers, falling out of contention for the No. 1 seed. Even so, Johnson remains confident that his offense is capable of beating anyone.
Ben Johnson Fires Warning Shots About Bears’ Offense
Chicago’s offense ranked among the league’s worst for several seasons prior to Johnson’s arrival, posting a fourth straight sub-65 offensive grade last year. However, the unit has taken a major leap under the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator. The Bears now rank eighth in PFSN’s Offensive Impact metric with an 80.4 grade.
Chicago is averaging 26.6 points per game this season, 10th most in the NFL, but in a shootout at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, they needed one more score. The 49ers held a 42–38 lead in the final moments when the Bears drove to San Francisco’s two-yard line with four seconds remaining.
Williams immediately faced pressure on the final play but managed to escape the pocket. While rolling out, he was pressured again and targeted Jahdae Walker in the end zone, but the pass hit the turf, allowing San Francisco to escape with the win.
Despite the failed final attempt, Johnson said he has complete faith in his offense and is willing to live with the results if his group goes down fighting. “I’ve got immense amounts of trust for everybody on the offense. I’m not gonna call a play I don’t fully believe in … if we go down, we’re gonna go down swinging like that,” he said.
When asked what went wrong on the final play, Johnson took responsibility, saying the play call came in too late, preventing the offense from lining up properly.
“Yeah, we didn’t quite get aligned in the formation we wanted to,” Johnson said. “It’s on me. I didn’t give em the call in fast enough, so he’s trying to piecemeal it together. I gotta do a better job on that.”
While the late-game execution was encouraging, the Bears also can’t ignore the fact that they allowed 42 points. Chicago’s defense ranks 22nd in PFSN’s Defensive Impact metric, and improvement on that side of the ball will be crucial if the Bears hope to make a deep playoff run.
Chicago now hosts the Detroit Lions in the regular-season finale, with a chance to secure the No. 2 seed and home-field advantage through most of the playoffs. With their offense clicking under Johnson, the Bears are a team capable of making serious noise in January.
